The Oyler smoker at at Ray's BBQ in the Huntington Park area of Los Angeles, Calif.

The Oyler smoker at at Ray's BBQ in the Huntington Park area of Los Angeles, Calif.

Photo: J.C. Reid

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A signed souvenir from Franklin Barbecue on the wall at Ray's BBQ in Huntington Park, Calif.

A signed souvenir from Franklin Barbecue on the wall at Ray's BBQ in Huntington Park, Calif.

Photo: J.C. Reid

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Brisket, ribs and sausage at Ray's BBQ in Huntington Park, Calif.

Brisket, ribs and sausage at Ray's BBQ in Huntington Park, Calif.

Photo: J.C. Reid

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Anabel Ramirez slices brisket at Ray's BBQ in Huntington Park, Calif.

Anabel Ramirez slices brisket at Ray's BBQ in Huntington Park, Calif.

Photo: J.C. Reid

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The dining room at Ray's BBQ in the Huntington Park area of Los Angeles, Calif.

The dining room at Ray's BBQ in the Huntington Park area of Los Angeles, Calif.

Photo: J.C. Reid

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Sign at Ray's BBQ in Huntington Park, Calif.

Sign at Ray's BBQ in Huntington Park, Calif.

Photo: J.C. Reid

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Brisket at Ray's BBQ in the Huntington Park area of Los Angeles, Calif.

Brisket at Ray's BBQ in the Huntington Park area of Los Angeles, Calif.

Photo: J.C. Reid

A circuitous route to serving Texas barbecue in East L.A.

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In 2011, Rene "Ray" Ramirez was laid off from his job with Chase Bank. He worried about how he would support his growing family of four. But sometimes hardship can be a blessing in disguise.

One night, he and his wife, Anabel, were out for a barbecue dinner with their children near his hometown of Huntington Park, Calif., southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The bill came to more than $100. A longtime barbecue enthusiast, Ramirez remembers realizing that his meaty habit would have to be shelved while he searched for a new job.

"Then it hit me," he says. "I'll just make my own barbecue." Three years later, Ray's BBQ opened in Huntington Park.

Ramirez's story is similar to others who have heeded the call of becoming a pitmaster. Necessity - often because of career issues - inspires them to follow their passion for smoking meat, and make a career out of it.

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This is certainly a common occurrence in places like Texas and Kansas City, where barbecue is part of the culture, but in the past few years I've watched as aspiring pitmasters in places as far away as England, France and even Kazakhstan do the same, opening Texas-style barbecue joints in their countries.

Ramirez was born in nearby Santa Ana, Calif., and grew up in East L.A., Huntington Park and his family's native El Salvador. He graduated from Montebello High School in 1992 and, after a stint as a car salesman, got a degree in business management from East Los Angeles College.

Ramirez's love of barbecue started when he was traveling to Kansas City as a manager for AT&T in the early aughts. He and his co-workers would visit the many barbecue restaurants that city is known for.

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"I still remember the smell of smoke when I walked into my first barbecue restaurant," Ramirez says. He was hooked.

Still, back then he was more of a barbecue fan than a pitmaster. That changed after the layoff. He bought a Traeger pellet smoker and cooked Kansas City-influenced ribs and pulled pork for family and friends.

Then he heard the phrase that all pitmasters who make the jump from backyard barbecue to retail barbecue eventually hear: "You know, you should open a restaurant and sell your barbecue."

" 'But who is going to buy it?' I thought to myself," Ramirez says. Indeed, Huntington Park is predominantly Hispanic, and a typical restaurant there sells tacos for $1. There are no Texas-style barbecue joints around. Who is going to pay upwards of $20 per pound for smoked brisket?

Undeterred, Ramirez turned to social media. He posted in Facebook neighborhood groups and invited people to his house on weekends to try his barbecue. Not only were they happy to pay for it, they took to social media to tell their friends about the great barbecue Ramirez was cooking.

Soon he had a following. And with a small family loan, a Kickstarter campaign and lots of help and encouragement from friends and fans, he finally opened Ray's BBQ on a gritty industrial stretch of Santa Fe Avenue in Huntington Park in September 2014.

The lines formed immediately, but Ramirez didn't rest on his laurels. He made pilgrimages to Austin to meet and learn from Aaron Franklin at Franklin Barbecue. He recently switched to Creekstone Farms briskets after encouragement from Texas barbecue photographer Robert Lerma, who dropped in during a recent visit to Southern California. He imports his sausage from Meyer's in Elgin. And he's revamping his pork dishes by switching to a high-quality Duroc product.

During my trip to Los Angeles a few weeks ago, I visited Ray's BBQ after several recommendations from barbecue aficionados. Ramirez himself was at the register taking orders. We started talking about barbecue. When he found out I was from Texas, he enthusiastically gave me a tour of the kitchen, which includes a legitimate Oyler smoker from J&R Manufacturing in Dallas. His wife, Anabel, was carving meat and assembling orders.

As for the product, Ramirez's brisket is a taste of Texas in L.A. - well-smoked and rendered, with a classic rub of salt and coarse-ground pepper. And Ray's BBQ itself is a fine tribute to following a passion, and to necessity as the mother of personal reinvention.